1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a stand having retractable legs for a golf bag as well as a golf bag equipped with such a stand.
2. Description of Background and Relevant Information
Golf bags in which the various golf clubs are arranged and which are used in golfing are often provided at their upper end with a foldable stand comprising two retractable journalled legs which are normally pressed against the top of the bag, when the bag is being carried, and which can be deployed, with the legs diverging with respect to one another so as to form a V support on the ground. As a result, when the stand of the bag is deployed, the bag can be positioned in the inclined position on the ground on which it rests at three points, namely a rearward support point for the bottom of the bag and two front support points corresponding to the ends of the two deployed legs of the stand. As a result, the opening of the bag through which the heads of the various clubs extend, is spaced from the ground and one thus avoids the heads of the clubs contacting the ground and becoming soiled.
Amongst various stands having retractable legs for a golf bag which are known, those which are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,887,838 and 2,749,089 each comprise two legs which are separately journalled, around individual axes, on the base which is affixed to the edge of the bag surrounding the upper opening thereof. The two journal axes of the two legs are contained in a single plane which is transverse with respect to the bag and they converge at a point above the exterior of the bag. As a result, during deployment of the two legs, they form a V, the spacing of the two legs increasing in correspondence with the extent of their deployment. The two legs are biased in the retracted or rest position, along the bag, by respective return springs which cause the automatic return of the legs to the rest position along the bag, as soon as the legs are freed, for example by lifting the bag.
The known stands having retractable legs for golf bags, of the type having individual springs for the automatic return of the legs, to the retracted position, along the bag, have, in the first place, the disadvantage that if, as a result of any movement of the bag, the contact of the lower ends of the legs with the ground ceases, these legs are automatically returned against the bag and consequently the stand formed by the two legs cannot maintain its deployed position in a permanent manner. Furthermore, the journal axes of the two legs are independent of one another, and the simultaneous deployment of these two legs requires providing a relatively complex mechanism which establishes a linkage between the two legs at points situated at a distance from the journal axes.
French Patent application No. 89 01185 in the name of applicant has sought to improve the linkage of the two legs by use of a coupling element of the cardan type which remedies the problem of accidental return and transmission, but the use of individual return springs on each leg adds an obvious mechanical complexity to the system.